How Much Do Dog Groomers Make?
No agency publishes pay for dog groomers alone. The official wage figure counts groomers together with kennel, daycare and shelter staff. The official business figure counts grooming businesses together with pet sitters, dog walkers and trainers.
So this page sets those two figures beside what working groomers charge and what they published about their own money. Type your ZIP code below to see your area, and use the calculator to run your own numbers.
The rest of this page is about whether you would be paid a share of that price or keep all of it.
Employed animal caretakers' median pay runs from $21,950 a year in rural southwest Alabama to $46,270 around Kahului, Hawaii
Type a ZIP code to see what employed animal caretakers, groomers included, earn in your area. BLS publishes this figure for 518 of 528 US areas; the rest use the state's. Where a county has 50 or more pet care businesses with no employees, the tool shows their Census receipts too. Every US ZIP code is matched.
Sources: BLS May 2025 area wages for animal caretakers (SOC 39-2021) by metro and nonmetro area; Census 2024 Nonemployer Statistics by county for pet care except veterinary (NAICS 812910); the Census 2020 ZIP-to-county file; USDA rural-urban codes. BLS counts employees only, with groomers, kennel, shelter and daycare staff in one figure. The Census figure is gross receipts before costs, with sitters, walkers and trainers included. No agency publishes grooming prices by area, so the calculator applies the area's pay level to the price of a groom; that is our assumption, not a measurement. The lookup runs in your browser. It loads a small file for the first three digits of your ZIP code from this site and sends nothing else.
The District of Columbia has the highest employed median, $44,210, and Mississippi the lowest, $26,970; one-person pet care businesses gross the most in Hawaii, $32,015
The two columns measure different people. The first is the median pay of employed animal caretakers, groomers counted with kennel and daycare staff. The second is the average gross receipts of pet care businesses with no employees, sitters and walkers included, before costs and tax, with part-timers counted.
| State | Animal caretakers, median a year (BLS May 2025) | Pet care business with no employees, average gross (Census 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $35,360 | $24,658 |
| Highest five | ||
| District of Columbia | $44,210 | $12,579 |
| Washington | $40,570 | $23,413 |
| Hawaii | $40,130 | $32,015 |
| Massachusetts | $39,650 | $23,510 |
| California | $38,700 | $28,243 |
| Lowest five | ||
| Mississippi | $26,970 | $24,474 |
| Louisiana | $27,910 | $27,331 |
| Alabama | $28,330 | $27,706 |
| West Virginia | $28,550 | $26,254 |
| Oklahoma | $28,940 | $26,190 |
| Most people employed in this job | ||
| Texas | $32,730 | $24,662 |
| Florida | $34,150 | $28,962 |
| New York | $37,840 | $25,375 |
| Illinois | $35,570 | $20,404 |
| Virginia | $34,380 | $18,854 |
| Pennsylvania | $31,360 | $23,066 |
BLS May 2025 state medians for animal caretakers (SOC 39-2021), employees only; Census 2024 Nonemployer Statistics for pet care except veterinary (NAICS 812910). Groomers are one part of each figure: kennel, shelter and daycare staff share the first, and sitters, walkers and trainers share the second. Puerto Rico is left out.
The biggest pay decision: take a share of each groom, or keep the whole price and carry the costs
Most of the gap between the numbers at the top of this page comes from this choice. Groomers on a salon's or a chain's payroll are in the BLS number. Mobile groomers and groomers running a salon alone are in the Census number. No agency counts how many groomers work each way.
The calculator below runs both.
Work out what you would take home before tax
Put in your own numbers to see a year two ways: on a 50% commission, or keeping the whole price in your own mobile or home salon. If you entered a ZIP code above, the price of a groom follows that area's pay level.
- Grooms you do in a year$102,000
- Your share$51,000
- Tips+ $15,300
Example figures from the sources named, checked in October 2026. Tax is not taken off, and neither are supplies, the van or the space. The 3% card fee is close to a card processor's published US rate, 2.9% plus 30 cents a payment. The commission preset takes off no card fees. With a ZIP code entered, the price of a groom follows that area's pay level.
Tipping is the most-asked groomer pay topic, at 218 phrasings, and pet groomers are on the IRS list of tipped jobs as entry 506
Tipping drew 218 phrasings on our chart, more than twice any other row about groomer pay. These are the federal rules as the IRS states them, not tax advice.
Entry 506 on the IRS list of occupations that customarily and regularly received tips is "Pet and show animal caretakers." Its example titles are "Pet groomer, pet sitter, pet walker, kennel worker, pet trainer, horse groomer."
Employees and the self-employed can both claim it. It phases out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income, or $300,000 for joint filers. Tips must be paid voluntarily.
The IRS caps the deduction for the self-employed at the net income of the trade or business in which the tips were earned. A mobile groomer or a salon owner working alone is in this group.
Stefanie, a New York mobile groomer, filmed the day. Three of the four dogs were priced $145 to $165. Her total for the day, tips included, was $734, gross.
What working groomers say they charge and make, in their own words
Few US groomers publish their own pay. These five published figures on video. Every figure is theirs, unverified, and labeled by period and gross as they said it. Most are prices or single days, so a day stays a day here.
Before van, fuel, supplies, insurance and tax. She charged $145 for a small dog and $165 for a large one. With her husband in the van, they do six or seven dogs a day.
His shop grooms about 20 dogs a day, and one design costs about $800. He said he puts most of his money back into the business. A famous outlier, not a typical shop.
About 20 years a groomer. She puts bather pay at $15 to $20 an hour and describes 50% commission at some places. She did not state her own income.
Nail trims only, a side service, not the business's full income. They called it a really good month.
She calls the Grooming Academy free paid training for bathers, and says trainees sign up for two years. Her account, not verified. She gave no pay figures.
New groomers learn on the job, and one New York groomer puts bather pay at $15 to $20 an hour
Starting out drew 84 phrasings on our chart, and 33 more that name a place. No agency publishes pay for new groomers, so these are the training facts BLS gives and what working groomers said about the start.
Grooming schools exist too, and BLS says certification is not required. Lindsay, a former PetSmart groomer, describes the chain's Grooming Academy as free paid training for bathers.
She gave it as a rough range. She charges $75 to $80 for a small dog, which takes her about an hour and 20 minutes to an hour and a half.
BLS says many states require self-employed animal care workers to have a business license. In New York, bill A1108 would license grooming facilities, not groomers, for $40 a year. It is in committee, not law.
He said he was making "maybe" that much. His San Diego shop brought in $1.3 million in 2022, with employees. That is shop revenue, not his pay.
Measured by us in October 2026, from Google's US suggestions. A row on grooming school was measured too, at 182 phrasings, and left off the chart because it is about what training costs, not what the work pays.
Dog groomer pay questions
If you groom on your own, take bookings and deposits without phone tag.
The free plan takes your first 100 bookings without a credit card. It is a permanent plan, not a trial.
- A booking page that works as the link in your Instagram bio
- Each service with its own length and price: a full groom, a bath and tidy, a nail trim
- A deposit at booking, or a card on file charged with the customer's permission, into your own Stripe account
- Tap to Pay on iPhone, to take a card in the van or at the table with no reader
Sources
Where every number on this page comes from, with the release or date we used.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Animal Caretakers (39-2021), national, state, metro and nonmetro areas, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-05-15 Employees only; the self-employed are not surveyed. Groomers are counted with kennel, shelter, zoo and daycare staff; BLS publishes no groomer-only figure. State and area figures from oesm25st.zip and oesm25ma.zip.
- 2018 Standard Occupational Classification: 39-2021 Animal Caretakers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Illustrative examples: Animal Shelter Worker, Dog Groomer, Kennel Worker, Zookeeper.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Animal Care and Service Workers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-09-14 25% of animal caretakers self-employed; groomers typically learn under an experienced groomer; certification not required; many states require a business license for the self-employed. May 2025 wages.
- Nonemployer Statistics 2024: Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (NAICS 812910), national, state and county, U.S. Census Bureau, 2026-09-29 Gross receipts of businesses with no paid employees, before costs and tax. Grooming shares the code with boarding, sitting, walking and training. Each business tax return counts as one business, part-time businesses included.
- 2022 Economic Census, product lines: Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services (NAICS 812910), U.S. Census Bureau Pet grooming services product line: 16,128 establishments, $2.98 billion in receipts in 2022. Businesses with paid employees only.
- 2020 ZCTA to County Relationship File, U.S. Census Bureau, 2021-12-09 Used by the ZIP tool to match a ZIP code to a county.
- 2020 Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes, ZIP code file, USDA Economic Research Service Used by the ZIP tool to label an area urban core, suburban, small city or rural.
- Occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on or before Dec. 31, 2024, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-06-28 Entry 506: Pet and show animal caretakers. Example titles include pet groomer.
- IRS Tax Tip 2026-06: How to take advantage of no tax on tips and overtime, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-01-26 The $25,000 cap, the phase-out above $150,000 ($300,000 joint) and the net-income limit for the self-employed. The 2025 through 2028 tax years are from IRS Topic 761.
- Topic no. 761, Tips: withholding and reporting, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-10-12 The deduction for tax years 2025 through 2028.
- Petco grooming careers FAQ, Petco Compensation may include hourly base pay, commission opportunities as you advance, and tips from pet parents. No commission percentage published.
- Myths of Petco dog grooming, Petco Groomers are W-2 professionals paid hourly wages, tips and commission incentive.
- New York Assembly Bill A1108 (2025-2026 session), licensing of pet grooming facilities, New York State Senate Would license grooming facilities, not individual groomers, for a $40 annual fee. In the Assembly Committee on Economic Development; not law.
- Stefanie, The Doodle Specialist: how much I make a day as a mobile groomer, YouTube Upload date approximate, about 2025. New York mobile groomer. One day, four dogs, gross, tips included.
- Gabriel Feitosa, I Bring In $1.3 Million A Year As A Dog Grooming Artist, CNBC Make It, YouTube Upload date approximate, about 2023. San Diego salon owner with employees. Shop revenue for 2022, not personal pay.
- Sarah Gildesleeve, How Much Does a Dog Groomer Make? Real Income and Career Path, YouTube, How Much Can I Make? Upload date approximate, about 2025. New York groomer of about 20 years. Prices, bather pay and commission; no personal income stated.
- Grooming By Rudy, How Much Money Did We Make Clipping Dog Nails In 30 Days?, YouTube Upload date approximate, about 2026. Nail trims only, one month, tips not included.
- Lindsay, Petsmart: Worst job EVER?, YouTube, Lindsey + Justin Upload date approximate, about 2024. Former PetSmart groomer. The $6,000 training repayment is her claim, not verified.
- Named groomers' own figures, Various the named groomers above
- Stripe pricing, standard US card rate, Stripe, 2026-10-25 the card processor kiwilaunch uses; quoted for the 3% card fee in the calculator
Not tax, legal or financial advice. Prices, costs and what you keep vary by state and city, and the tax rules on tips have conditions. A tax professional who knows your situation can answer for you.